


Together we're stronger

by harry_cupcake



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gay, Larry Stylinson Is Real, Love, M/M, Pre-The X Factor Era, The X Factor Era, larry - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-16
Updated: 2020-01-30
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:35:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 8,724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22282726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/harry_cupcake/pseuds/harry_cupcake
Summary: "Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson?" said a voice belonging to the stage assistant standing in the middle of the room.Shit.Holy fucking shit.It's their turn.They have to go on stage now and...And give everything they got or they won't get through.Louis can't imagine not going through.He might not stand to see the hopefullness in Harry's eyes drift away and be replaced by disappointment and sadness.No, they'll get through. Louis will do everything in his power to succeed for Harry, for his dreams, for their dreams.He still remembers the day he got himself into this.It was three months ago.[Harry and Louis are boyfriends and they decide to audition for the X-Factor together]
Relationships: Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson
Comments: 7
Kudos: 34





	1. Prologue

"Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson?" said a voice belonging to the stage assistant standing in the middle of the room.

Shit.

Holy fucking shit.

It's _their_ turn.

They have to go on stage now and...

And give everything they got or they won't get through.

Louis can't imagine not going through.

He might not stand to see the hopefullness in Harry's eyes drift away and be replaced by disappointment and sadness.

No, they'll get through. Louis will do everything in his power to succeed for Harry, for his dreams, for _their_ dreams.

He still remembers the day he got himself into this.

It was three months ago.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! This is my first fanfiction ever... hope you like it! I'll be publishing the first chapter soon :) This story is also avaiable on wattpad, the title is the same while the username is larry_is_the_key.
> 
> Kissy


	2. Chapter 2

_**Flashback- Three months before _ ****_**_

The young couple is at Harry's house chilling on the couch watching a very crappy movie on the telly, Louis' left arm draped around the younger boy and Harry's head rested on his shoulder when the X Factor casting advertisement begins. Both boys really love singing, so they always watch it together.

_**_****_ ** _

In that moment, Louis foolishly dares to ask "Have you ever thought of trying out?"

_**_****_ ** _

"Mmh?" Harry hums back.

_**_****_ ** _

"Would you ever audition?" Louis explains himself better.

_**_****_ ** _

"Umm... I could ask you the same thing: would you ever audition?" Harry asks back getting off of Louis' shoulder to look at him, a playful smile on his lips.

_**_****_ ** _

"Ehmm... Why would I?" Louis replies confused.

_**_****_ ** _

"Well, you do also sing..." Harry reasonably answers.

_**_****_ ** _

"Yeah but we both know who's the best here" Louis says patting Harry's head twice as if he were a dog. He really means it. Louis loves Harry's unique voice, even if still immature (him having not fully hit puberty yet). He loves it. It's obvious to him that Harry can sing better comparing to him. Louis' singing is nothing special, but Harry is destined to be a star.

_**_****_ ** _

"How many times do we have to argue over this?" Harry moans annoyed rolling his eyes and then looks directly into Louis' "Lou, you have an amazing voice. Your high-pitched tone doesn't make you sound like a girl nor like a cat giving birth to three little twin pussies-" Louis begins to argue but Harry cuts him off rapidly. "Nor the moans of pain the elderly women in your mother's pilates class always make and don't interrupt me" Harry gives his boyfriend a pointed look. "If you sell yourself that bad, not many people will be willing to listen to you singing and honestly it's their loss."

_**_****_ ** _

"Okay, okay" Louis concedes rolling his eyes a bit, which makes Harry do the same. "But would you? Give it a try?" The older boy gets back to the main question.

_**_****_ ** _

A few moments pass and Harry's system doesn't seem to elaborate an answer. His face is blank, aside from the gears turning, indicating that he's thinking deeply. After a short while, a malicious smile appeares on his face and that makes Louis feel very uneasy.

_**_****_ ** _

Harry puts the telly on mute and turns his whole body towards Louis, asking for attention.

_**_****_ ** _

Louis gives him that but looks at him skeptically and also a little nervously.

_**_****_ ** _

"I will audition" Harry states confidently with no hint of fear or nervousness.

_**_****_ ** _

"That's amazing!!!" Louis widens his eyes in surprise not believing how easy it had been to convince him and being genuienly happy that Harry is going to give it a go. He's so relieved. It turns out he didn't have to be scared in the first place, Harry has always been a good guy, he can't hurt a fly so it was unlikely that he had decided to finally get rid of Louis, once and for all. Deep inside Harry loves him. Deep, _deep_ inside.

_**_****_ ** _

Louis has been so lost in his thoughts that he doesn't register what Harry is saying. "Sorry love, I didn't quite catch that"

_**_****_ ** _

Harry huffs and repeats "I said 'On one condition'"

_**_****_ ** _

Louis stills, suddenly nervous again and asks reluctantly "Which condition?"

_**_****_ ** _

"You'll do it with me" Harry states with a full grin on display, dimples and all.

_**_****_ ** _

"You're joking" Louis concludes half-amused and half-terrified at the idea. The only thought of singing on a stage in front of so many people in the audition theater, the judges plus the people at home gives him nausea.

_**_****_ ** _

"I'm most definitely not joking Lou" Harry answers and Louis didn't think it was possibile for his grin to get wider before, until it did.

_**_****_ ** _

"No" Louis rejects firmly turning his attention to the telly even though there's nothing he can understand since it's muted.

_**_****_ ** _

"Cmon Louuu" Harry kneels dramatically in front of him taking his hands in his and staring at him with a pleading look.

_**_****_ ** _

"Nope" Louis replies once again with just a tiny little hint of unsureness in his voice. Damn, he's starting to perceive the familiar feeling of defeat he gets everytime he happens to argue on something with Harry.

_**_****_ ** _

"But Louuuuu" Harry is pouting now. _Pouting._ That bastard. He knows all of Louis' weaknesses and he always uses them against him to get what he wants.

_**_****_ ** _

However, Louis isn't going to give in. He can't. So he shakes his head since he doesn't trust his voice to deny Harry something when he's pleading like that.

_**_****_ ** _

Unfortunately, Harry clearly can't drop it, on the contrary he takes that as a cue to straddle bis lap forcing him to look at anything but him taking his head in his hands.

_**_****_ ** _

Aaand Louis can't resist anymore. His full cherry lips pouting and his green eyes glistening with so much hopefulness...

_**_****_ ** _

Louis is a goner.

_**_****_ ** _

"Okay" Louis sighs admitting defeat but not having time to let that sink in since he's soon attacked by his boyfriend who peppers him with kisses all over his face while saying: "Thank you" he pecks his right cheek, " You are" he pecks his left cheek, "The best boyfriend" he pecks his forehead, "Ever" he then kisses his mouth a little longer than a peck until they're both smiling and laughing, breaking the kiss.

_**_****_ ** _

Louis is a goner, especially with Harry.

_**_****_ ** _


	3. Chapter 3

Blind.  
  
That's how Louis feels.  
  
Lights.  
  
That's what Louis sees.  
  
He can't see anything for a moment and he doesn't know whether it's because of the stage lights or if his nerves are playing a trick on him.  
  
He starts to see something now.  
  
People.  
  
Lots of people.  
  
He can hear them too.  
  
People were cheering and screaming for them.  
  
Wait, what?  
  
The audience is gushing over _them._  
  
Harry and Louis.  
  
On stage.  
  
Together.  
  
He takes a moment to glance to his right catching his boyfriend beaming. His eyes are shining so bright he could light up a fire with them and Louis thinks he might get lost in them if he stares too much.  
  
Fortunately (or not?) his attention to his current situation is brought back by a male voice.  
  
Shit.  
  
It's Simon Cowell's voice.  
  
 _Simon Cowell._  
  
The most frightening among all the X-Factor judges.  
  
“Hello guys" he greets them with his usual stern voice.  
  
“Hi" Harry instantly replies with a small nervous smile.  
  
“Introduce yourselves, please"  
  
“Umm, I'm Harry Styles" the audience erupts with screams and whistles “And he's Louis Tomlinson" Harry answers for the both of them since Louis seems to have momentarily lost the ability to speak. “I'm sixteen and he's eighteen and we come from Cheshire" Harry finishes.  
  
“And you're brothers? Or friends? Or…?” Simon asks cautiously.  
  
“We're boyfriends" Louis replies instantly, finally being able to say something he was sure of and, most importantly, proud of.  
  
However, at his reply the audience has mixed reactions. The majority gives them a round of applause and awwws, the judges too. Others are probably disappointed on the newfound imformation since some sounds of disagrement are heard.  
  
Louis, not knowing what to do, stands there awkwardly waiting for one of the judges to ask them some other questions, maybe about their music or dreams or some shit.  
  
But they don't.  
  
“How long have you been together?” Simon asks seemingly… intrigued (?).  
  
“Well, we've known each other since we were babies…” Harry is cut off by the awwws of the audience.  
  
“So basically we grew up together being best friends, but…” Harry looks at his boyfriend in need of help, so he intervenes “Our friendship was never a normal one, we were extremely close to be just friends and our families noticed too but they didn't pay much attention to it”  
  
“And how did you get together?” Simon asks now properly interested. Who knew a scaring man like him would like to know so much about some strangers' romantic life?  
  
“Well, when I was 14 and he was 16, he asked me out and the rest is history” Harry explained with a pink blush on his chubby cheeks.  
  
“So cute” Cheryl Cole states enthusiastically.  
  
“And how come you decided to audition?” Louis Walsh changes the subject (finally, it was becoming awkward…).  
  
“That would be his fault” Louis answers pointing at his manipulative boyfriend.  
  
“I sincerely apologize” Harry adresses him with a cheeky grin.  
  
Louis can't do anything but grin back.  
  
Their moment is interrupted by Simon “Let's hear what you got guys, shall we?”  
  
Both Louis and Harry nod.  
  
God, Louis is sooo nervous.  
  
And he didn't even want to be here in the first place, it was all on Harry. It's his dream and he can't imagine how he feels.  
  
Harry never really wanted to do anything but this, he had never been interested in anything else.  
  
So Louis really hopes they will make it, for Harry.  
  
He would do anything for him.  
  
The music starts.  
  
It's _their_ song.  
  
Louis remembers it as the soundtrack of their first kiss.  
  
It happened on their first date.  
  
(Which was horrible by the way)


	4. Chapter 4

_**Flashback-The date** _

Louis rings Harry's doorbell feeling more nervous than he thought he’d be.

His forehead and armpits are sweatting as well as his hands which are holding a bunch of flowers he randomly picked out from a florist near his house.

(He will regret buying them a few minutes later)

Just as he was about to ring the bell again, Harry opens the door.

Breathtaking is the proper word to describe the angelic creature standing in front of Louis.

Even if Harry hasn’t quite hit puberty yet, he is still so amazingly beautiful.

He’s wearing blue jeans, a jumper of some indie band he likes and trainers.

But out everything he’s wearing, the best one is his smile.

His beautiful blinding smile.

When he grins it's like each part of his body participates in the act.

Most of all his innocent green eyes.

Louis can see Harry's joyfulness in them.

Louis loves it.

He loves Harry too.

He wonders if the younger boy feels the same…

But things are getting a little bit awkward since Louis is staring at Harry with a slack jaw while the younger boy is looking at him with an enormous grin and a blush on his cheeks.

Harry might love him back.

“Louis dear!” Anne appears next to his son looking so excited as if she was the one going on a date.

“Hi aunt Anne" Louis greets her smiling warmly.

“Please come inside, honey" Anne gestures him to get inside the house.

When they’re inside, she hugs him and whispers quietly into his ear “Good to finally see you take a chance. I can assure you both won't regret it” Anne then releases him and winks at him.

“I know, thank you” Louis smirks.

“I'll leave you two to your date" Anne says smirking at the flowers in Louis' hands and giving Harry a kiss on his forehead then retreats back into the house.

When Harry sees the flowers, Louis didn't think it was possible but his smile grows even wider and it seems so fucking painful, his cheeks look like they’re about to explode.

“Hi" Louis breaks their staring match (He’s having a countdown in his mind which will have a very gory ending if Harry doesn't break his painful-looking grin).

Harry glances at the flowers with his still tight smile which is beginning to look like a supernova ready to implode.  
But just as he was about to say something…

He sneezes.

Twice.

“Oops" Harry says in a cute voice.

“Are you alright?” Louis asks a bit concerned. He didn't want to make Harry go on a date if he was sick.

“It's hayfever…” Harry answers a bit embarassed while taking the flowers from Louis' grasp and going to the kitchen.

And fuck.

How could have Louis forgotten?

Harry has discovered to have hayfever ever since their families used to go on short trips in the countryside during the summer.

He's so fucking dumb.

Harry returns with some tissues in his hands after putting the flowers away. He probably threw them away since they gave him _allergic_ reactions.

God, how could he have been so stupid?

“I'm ready" Harry states with an excited smile. He almost seems unfazed by the fact that his best friend (hopefully future boyfriend) had forgotten about his allergies.

“Are you sure you are well enough to go?” Louis asks.

“Good as ever” Harry replies with a fond smile… oh Louis likes that smile…

“Okay” Louis returns his grin.

So yeah they just stare at each other for several minutes like two dorks until-“Hey lovebirds, are you going or what?” Gemma’s voice rings from somewhere inside the house.

“Thanks for ruining the moment Gems!” Louis shouts dramatically trying to get a glimpse of her but not succeding since his vision is blocked by Harry’s silhouette.

“Well…” Louis is brought back by his date’s mumbling, he has his hands behing his back while he swings from left to right looking like a shy child, oh he’s soooo adorable! Louis would like to kiss him senseless while twisting his curls and make him moa- The date!

“Let’s go!” Louis says a little too suddenly, infact, the younger boy lifts his head quickly showing his wide eyes full of confusion.

Louis refrains himself from staring at his pretty eyes by turning around and by starting to walk.

Harry reaches him instantly, hooking up his right arm to Louis’ left.

They’ve always been handsy after all.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Flashback-The date** _

For weeks Louis had planned to take Harry on a fancy date in a fancy Italian restaurant but would never tell him.

“Pleease! Tell me Louuuu!” Harry used to whine, but as much as Louis wanted to give in to Harry's pink full pouty lips (that he does not dream of kissing, nope, not at all) he really couldn't spoil the surprise for him.

So when they enter the restaurant, climbing over the people in the queue, and Louis checks behind to see if Harry hasn't got lost in crowd, he sees the younger boy beaming like a fucking Christmas tree.

Yup, those weeks of agony in which he resisted spilling everything about the date to Harry, were definitely worth it.

‘Louis, don't fuck this up, it can all fall apart at any moment' a voice in his head says. But Louis pushes that voice at the back of his mind because he doesn't want to be pessimistic.

He should have listened to his subconscious.

He should have prepared to what was about to come.

Louis approaches the reservation desk behind which a man is standing, wearing a suit.

“Good evening, sir. Have you reserved a table for tonight?” the man asks with a formal smile.

“Yes" Louis breathes out not wanting to wait too long to be seated across from Harry.

His _date._

“Under what name?”

“Tomlinson” Louis says not caring about the noisy crowd behind him but instead focussing on the beautiful angel behind him.

That's why he doesn't register the words of the man when he says “I'm sorry, I'm afraid you aren't on the list, sir"

And when he does, he just exclaims nervously “What?! Th-there must be a-a mistake…”

“I'm afraid not, there's no reservation under your name, sir" the man explains with a hint of annoyance in his tone.

And the first price for dumbness in life goes to…

Louis fucking Tomlinson.

This is so fucking embarassing.

How could he forget?

He did think of calling the restaurant but had never done it.

He considered it done.

As if it was an obvious thing he did.

But he didn't.

He can't possibly turn around right now and bear the look that must be on Harry's face.

Disappointment.

Sadness.

Uneasiness.

But he has to, since the man at the desk is staring at him like he's a freak and the people in line are kind of starting to get mad at his non-moving form.

So he turns around.

And he sees nothing but the angry crowd.

No one actually.

Panicked, Louis quickly pushes over people to get out of the restaurant. When he's out, he sees Harry with his back turned to him. His shoulders are shaking and his hands are covering his face.

Louis thinks he hears whimpers or maybe sobs?

Harry's definitely crying.

And it's all Louis' fault.

“Harry" Louis says in a soft voice while reaching out for him, touching his shoulder hesitantly.

“ ‘M sorry" Harry says in a muffled hoarse voice.

“What for? I should be sorry, I am sorry. I didn't make a reservation and made you cry" they are facing each other now. The younger boy's cheeks are wet and his eyes puffy, he seems exhausted as he wipes his cheeks with his sleeve.

“Not your fault" Harry says with a tired voice.

“Then why are you crying?” Louis asks with a soft questioning voice.

“Ummm… Too many people I-I panicked" Harry admits shyly looking at the ground.

“You mean you had a panic attack?!” Louis asks shocked.

He shouldn't be concerned, right?

Harry started having panic attacks when his parents divorced and well… also after that for… reasons.

Let's not get sad now.

Anyway, Louis always helps Harry out when he has one.

He wishes he had now.

Why does Louis feel like it's his fault?

Oh well, beacause it's Louis who brought Harry there and caused his anxiousness.

“I'm sorry" Harry says again after taking a steading breath.

“Nothing to be sorry for, love" Louis says soothingly “If you want to go home I-"

“No!” Harry exclaims with wide eyes “No need to…” he says more calmly “I-I mean… would it be bad if ummm, if we went somewhere else?” the younger boy suggests shyly.

“It'd be awesome!” Louis states very, very pleased but with an inch of nervousness in his voice.

Why nervous?

Oh right, he has to look for some other place to go to and he has no idea where to start searching.

Louis predicts a _memorable_ date.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Flashback-The date**_   
  
“Where would you like to go?” Louis asks nervously.   
  
“Anywhere you want” Harry says with a small smile.   
  
“I think you have to be more specific, Haz. You want to go to another Italian restaurant or a French one or-“ Louis rambles.

“Here” Harry says suddenly stopping next to a diner.

“Here?” Louis asks incredulously watching the american-looking drive-in.

“Yup” Harry answers popping the ‘p’ with a grin.

“Well… If you’re sure…” Louis starts to walk to the door and holds it open for the younger boy (which earns him a smile and a blush) before entering himself.

The inside is… nice.

The walls are patterned with light blue and white squares and pictures of famous actors are hung over them.

The boys sit on a booth next to the right wall of the diner.

They look through the menus and soon a waitress appears next to their table.

“What can I get you?”

“I’d like a sandwitch and a diet coke, please” Harry answers whilst closing his menu.

“For me a burger and fries with ketchup and a coke” Louis tells the waitress and then gives her the menus.

“That food’s gonna kill you someday, Lou” Harry states after the waitress leaves.

“Oh cmon, it’s just a few fats” Louis responds with a playful smile while the waitress reappears and places their beverages on the table.

“Tell me that when you’re an obese 50 year old who can’t even move properly without using a wheelchair” Harry plays along “But you’d still binge-eat as if your life depended on it and you wouldn’t bother to clean your clothes from the gravies” Harry finishes with a cheeky grin.

“Gross” Louis says laughing “But you’d still be beside me, right? Still skinny and charming and pretty and…” Louis’ talk fades.

Whoa.

‘What are you saying Louis? Why are you telling him everything you love about him?’

Harry seems to be getting awkward since he’s spotting a blush on his puffy cheeks.

Louis is starting to feel awkward too.

But they both shouldn’t, they are best friends after all.

They know each other very well.

But this is new.

Louis can’t refrain himself anymore from trying to get something more from their relationship.

Hopefully Harry can’t too.

But anyways, even if this thing doesn’t work out (fingers crossed) Louis knows they’ll still have each other.

Either way, they’ll be fine.

Or not.

The waitress reapproaches their table.

The very clumsy girl (now Louis knows) trips over something (her own feet?) and Louis’ burger leaps and lands open on Louis’ shirt and trousers dirtying them with ketchup and other shit but most importantly, ketchup.

“I’m so sorry!!!” the waitress exclaims, allarmed.

“It’s nothing, don’t worry” Louis reassures her while wiping his clothes with his napkin.

“I’ll get you another one. And some more napkins…” the waitress says fleeing to the kitchen.

When she’s gone, Louis directs his gaze towards Harry and sees him covering his mouth trying to suppress his laughter, but he doesn’t succeed, a few giggles come out.

After a few moments, Harry steadies himself.

“Maybe you won’t have to wait that long to be covered in gravy” and then he finally erupts in loud cackles.

Louis laughs along not being able to control it when Harry giggles cutely like that.

Oh boy, he really loves him.

The waitress re-reappears with an apologetic look on her face and places the extra napkins and their orders on the table. “Enjoy your meal, and I’m still sorry…”

After Louis cleans his clothes up as best as he can, the boys start eating in silence.

Louis realises that people generally talk when they’re on a date, so he tries to start a conversation “So… How’s school going?”

‘School? What the fuck Louis! This is a date, not a family dinner!’

“Ummm… fine” Harry answers biting back a grin.

He knows Louis doesn’t have a clue about what to say, so he tries to start a conversation too “Well… may I umm… ask you why you kind of… asked me out?” Harry doesn’t meet his eyes while he says this, he’s too shy.

And God he’s so cute.

Louis decides he’ll tease him a bit.

“I actually did it to confess something important” Louis says suddenly turning serious.

“What?” Harry looks at him with wide eyes communicating both curiosity and surprise.

“Well… I-I like someone…” the older boy fakes being shy while telling him that.

“Oh… and who are they?” Harry asks trying to hide his discomfort by drinking from his glass.

See, Harry and Louis came out to each other a long time ago: when the younger boy came out to him as gay, Louis did the same as bisexual.

“Well…” Louis smirks but recovers quickly “He has got blond straight hair, brown eyes and he’s sooo nice but also naughty when it comes to our free time-“

“Okay, I get it” Harry cuts him off and turns his gaze out the window.

Okay, he clearly was in a sad mood.

He definitely likes him back.

“Harry-“

“It’s okay if you like someone, I wasn’t expecting anything anyways” he’s still looking out the window.

“What!?” Louis exclaims, taken aback “I- what- Harry, look at me” Louis finally says taking Harry’s soft hand in his.

“Yes” Harry says turning his head towards him trying to smile.

He fails.

“I was joking” Louis starts and he can see Harry almost breathing out as if it was a relief to hear that.

“I do like someone” a grin appears on Louis’ face “And I haven’t made him up”

Harry beams.

He knows it.

His knows his feelings are shared.

“And who might this someone be?” the younger boy asks with an enourmous amount of cheekiness.

“Just Stan, you know the guy from my class” Louis says casually.

Shock is written all over Harry’s face “Really!?”

“No Haz, are you crazy? Stan is just ewww, I have a high taste” Louis answers staring at Harry.

Harry blushes.

“Besides, Stan is straight as fuck”

At that Harry laughs out loud and his dimples appear.

Golden star for Louis.

The conversation flows easily after that.


	7. Chapter 7

_**Flashback-The date** _

Their date has been amazing.

Louis can’t even count all the times he made Harry laugh.

However, when the bill is presented to them, they argue a bit.

“Hell no, Lou” Harry says taking out his wallet.

“Haz no, I messed up real bad: I didn’t make reservations for the Italian restaurant and caused you a panic attack”

“Not your fault”

“So it’s only fair that I pay” Louis is already taking the money out of his wallet.

Suddenly, someone rushes inside the diner making everybody turn their head towards the door.

It’s a man.

He looks filthy and his clothes seem to large on him.

He looks homeless.

He starts walking towards the counter but he wobbles a lot, he seems to be about to fall.

Louis briefly glances at Harry and sees it.

Pity.

But it soon transforms into determination.

Harry stands and walks up to the wobbling man.

Louis can’t say he’s surprised.

Even since he was a kid, Harry has always cared deeply for the others.

He and his mother, Anne, frequently showed their generosity offering food and warm clothes to people in need through their church.

So it’s normal for Harry to go help the homeless man in the diner.

The young boy catches the man before he falls, them ending up kind of hugging each other when in reality Harry is supporting the weak man.

He helps him take a seat and quickly a waitress approaches them placing a cup of coffe and a sandwich in front of the man whose eyes light up.

“It’s on the house” the waitress smiles at the beaming man.

“Thank you so much” the man tells the both of them seemingly on the verge of tears.

“You’re welcome” the waitress then leaves to serve other clients.

Now that he’s sure that the homeless man is fine, Harry returns to his date sitting on the booth but keeping his eyes on the man who quickly starts devouring his offered meal.

Louis admires the angel sitting across him, he can’t understand how someone can be this perfect.

Beautiful on the outside and, most importantly, on the inside.

He loves him.

“He must be starving” Harry states sadly.

“You’re amazing” Louis tells him staring at him in adoration.

“I’m not, I’m really not Lou” Harry glances down still looking miserable.

“Harry, look at me” Louis says firmly.

The younger boy gazes at him, his eyes hold some kind of pain nobody can understand except the tormented soul who’s feeling it.

It’s not that Harry is a depressed fourteen-year old, he just has a lot on his bag.

However, he never shows it except when he’s with Louis.

There’s no point in hiding with Louis.

What an excruciating sight.

“You are the most fascinating, generous, kind, lovely human being on this Earth and _no one_ has the right to convince you of the opposite, is that clear?”

“Yeah but at school-”

“Nonsense”

The younger boy seems to accept Louis’ vision on things since he shows the older boy a small shy smile.

“I think you can do better than that” Louis jokes.

Harry full on grins now, thank God.

“We’re still splitting the bill, darling”

Aaaand we’re back with the drama.

“Harry I’m paying, ok?” Louis says exasperated.

“No way, we’ll split it” Harry protests while fishing for his wallet in his pocket… but he seems to be finding none.

The younger boy pales visibly “I-I can’t f-find my w-wallet”

“Are you sure?! You had it before that homeless man entered…” Louis trails off glancing at the counter where the weak man was sitting.

Wait, what?

_Was_ sitting.

Oh shit.

“That bastard” Louis is very very angry now.

“No, it can’t be possible… He seemed harmless, weak… How can it be? There’s must be a misunderstanding… it might have fallen somewhere near…” Harry scans the floor for his wallet but with no results.

Louis quickly places the money and the tip on the table and takes Harry’s arm escorting him out of the diner.

'Where could he have gone?' Louis thinks.

“Lou don’t worry, okay? I mean I didn’t have that much money in there after all…” Harry says resigned.

But Louis doesn’t give up, he scans the surroundings and spots something familiar.

Or better, _someone_ familiar.

“Didn’t go that far” the angry boy mumbles before shouting at the fake homeless man while walking quickly towards him.

“Hey! Would you like some help?” he’s getting closer to the robber.

“We have money if you want… Oh wait, you seem to have taken care of that already” Louis’ eyes are furious and his brow is furrowed.

He was _so_ close.

As a testament of his guiltiness the man flees.

It takes a second for Louis to register it and another to follow him.

He won’t get away with it.

He faintly hears Harry’s voice calling out for him behing him but he won’t stop, he has a mission.

He doesn’t know for how long he chases that asshole, the only thing he acknowledges is that he’s so tired.

He doesn’t knows if he can continue with this.

In fact, he unintentionally starts slowing down loosing track of his target.

He’s on the footie team of his school, hell he’s the captain for fuck’s sake.

And yet he stops.

He lost him.

What did he get from this?

A ragged breath and an exhausted body.

And a muscle ache he’ll probably feel in the morning.

Scratch that.

He’ll definitely feel it in the morning.

After a while, he hears someone’s quick steps behind him.

“Lou, please don’t do that ever again” Harry’s panting too.

“Sorry, I really wanted to take it back for you” Louis turns to apologetically.

“I would have appreciated it more if you hadn’t made me break into a run because of your stubborness”

“I’m so sorry”

“You alrealdy said that”

“Harry, I’m so-”

“Where even are we?” Harry changes the conversation.

They were in a very dark and isolated alley.

“I have no idea”

“Doesn’t seem like a nice place”

“Yeah, definitely not” another voice says.

Oh shit. Crap. Fuck.

He recognizes that voice.

He doesn’t like that voice at all.

And its owner is even worse.

He gazes at Harry and sees the look of panic on his face.

He then turns to the guy who just talked.

“Tom”


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I just want to say that there may be some triggers for this chapter... Nothing too bad, don't worry! Just be careful if you feel like you may be triggered. Enjoy the chapter!

_**Flashback-The date** _

“Look who’s here, Lewis and his toyboy”

Tom smirks while a few of his friends laugh behind him.

There’s five of them.

They are fucked.

“How lucky I am to find you here, I have an itch to scratch”

“Cmon big bad guy, it’s five against two. Do you think it’s fair?” Louis says with fake confidence.

“I didn’t know your pretty boy started to pick up fights. I guess you’re lying, he’s too much of a pussy to do that”

Louis is getting angry but he knows better than to lose his cool now.

“He’s too much of a queer to fend for himself, the only good thing he has is his pretty face and lean body”

“Tom…” it’s a warning. Louis doesn’t know if he can control himself longer if that asshole keeps insulting the love of his life.

“Maybe he should start to put that to use since that’s the only prospect of a job he has. I mean, the singing shit? Definitely not for him. Who would ever want to listen to him singing?”

Louis is losing his patience, he glances at Harry and sees him looking at the floor hiding his face a bit, just taking it.

“Don’t you know? People like you, princess, will _never_ be accepted. Nobody wants you to spread your fucking disease. You fucking disgust me, people like you should be left to rot in the sewers like the fucking scum ar-”

Louis can’t take it anymore.

Fuck rationality.

“Louis! No!”

He lunges at Tom, hitting him on the face.

The impact of the swing makes the bully fall to the ground.

As a consequence, his friends grab him by the shoulders and give him a few punches.

Louis feels a bit disoriented but he faintly hears Harry screaming something like “Stop!” or “Please!”

He can see a little better now.

Tom is standing up, touching his bloody lip.

He looks furious.

He throws three hard punches at him which make him even more disoriented.

Through his blurry vision, he can make out Tom’s silhouette glancing at his friends as if communicating something through his eyes.

The jerks throw him on the ground and Louis knows they’re going to beat him up hard.

They’re about to start when a desperate cry is heard “NO! PLEASE DON’T! TOM, I’M BEGGING YOU. I’LL DO ANYTHING!”

Sobs are heard.

Damn, Harry is crying for the second time that night.

Louis has recovered enough to see Tom smirking maliciously before turning to the crying boy.

“Oh, really? And what could I ever want from a worthless slut like you, uh? What would you offer me?”

Harry stares at the ground, still crying.

Louis needs to stand up and intervene before something bad happens.

“H-How about you get to beat me up instead of him? H-He’s exhausted, please”

“NO!” Louis protests weakly from the ground.

“SHUT UP!” Tom yells at him, then returns to Harry.

“You’re asking me to beat you up? What’s this? A Romeo and Juliet-type of story? Are you together or something?” Tom chuckles sarcastically.

Everybody is silent.

“Ooooh, that’s interesting” the bully barks out a creepy laughter.

“Mess him up a bit” Tom tells his friends pointing at Louis but keeping the intense gaze he has on Harry.

“What?! No! Please!” Harry shouts but it’s no use, the gang has already started to kick Louis relentlessly.

“NOOO!” Harry is screaming at the top of his lungs while kneeling on the ground and clutching his ears.

“Stop, leave now”

Tom’s friends look at him questiongly and confusedly.

“Go”

They do.

The only sounds that can be heard in the deserted alley are Louis’ ragged breaths and Harry’s soft cries.

“What should I do with you?” Tom thinks aloud.

“Please, you’ve done a lot already! If you keep doing this, he’ll pass out! I’m _begging_ you!” Harry screams at Tom.

“You gotta give me something in return, baby” the bully touches Harry’s hair softly.

What the fuck?

Louis is watching them horrified.

He can’t possibly be hinting at what he’s thinking, right?

Tom is _not_ gay.

He despises LGBTQA people.

And yet it seems like…

“You’re so blind Harry. I’ve tried so hard to make you see but you’re so oblivious”

Tom lifts the younger boy’s chin to make him look at him.

“What are you talking about?” Harry frowns in confusion.

“I like you, princess”

Louis gasps from the ground while Harry seems to be frozen with wide eyes.

“W-What?! I can’t- you- w-what are you saying?! A-Are you out of your mind?!”

“I’m serious” Tom says with no hint of amusement in his tone.

Oh, he’s not joking.

“Then you’re crazy! You’re a bully! How can you even think that I would ever like you!”

“You don’t understand. You don’t have a say in this” Tom says sternly.

Tom grabs Harry’s face and forcefully kisses the struggling lad.

Louis needs to do something.

He tries to stand up but fails, he’s in so much pain.

Harry is punching at Tom’s sides to get him to stop kissing him but it only makes the bully grab his his wrists and pin him to the ground, straddling him.

_Blocking him._

Tom finally interrupts the ‘kiss’ to regain his breath.

“STOP IT!” Harry shouts through Tom’s and his own panting.

“You want this, trust me. What could that brat give you anyways? Bet he can’t even fuck you good” He says releasing Harry’s wrists and starting to unzip his pants.

‘Okay Louis, try again now! We can’t let this happen!'

But even if Louis tries with all his might, he can’t do it.

He may have a few bruised ribs.

‘Please God, make someone come here to save us, to save _him_ ’ Louis prays in his head.

But God doesn’t help him.

Harry does.

The younger boy, seeing as Tom has freed his wrists, knees the bully on the crotch making him tumble to the ground.

Harry stands quickly and punches Tom square in the face, knocking him out.

He then goes to Louis helping him stand up, supporting him.

“Let’s go”

“How did you-”

“Let’s go, Lou”


	9. Chapter 9

_**Flashback-The date** _

He’s floating in heaven.

He’s surrounded by rainbows and sunshine and feels _so_ calm.

He looks around and sees an angel by his side.

Long brown curls frame his graceful face.

His eyes shine as bright as emeralds.

His lips are extremely scarlet, they look like they’re tempting you to ruin their pureness.

“Louis” he says in such a deep but innocent voice “I love you”

Thet’s everything Louis ever wanted to hear from the angelic creature laying beside him.

“Louis”

He’s unable to answer.

“Louis”

He just can’t move his mouth, it’s as if he’s not really conscious.

“Ngmn”

“Louis, wake up!”

The dreaming boy widens his eyes at the loud voice calling him.

He’s lying on a bench in a park.

Harry is standing in front of him holding a bag in his hand.

“Ever thought of growing your hair out?” Louis asks suddenly reminiscing on the dream he just had.

“I see you’ve hit your head pretty hard” Harry smirks and sits beside him.

While sitting up, Louis winces a lot.

Suddenly, the flashes of what happened come to him: the fake homeless man robbing Harry, trying to chase him, Tom and his gang, getting beaten up, Tom kissing Harry, Tom almost _raping_ Harry.

All of that just happened on their first date.

How lucky they are.

“Where are we?” Louis says confusedly.

“They beat you up so much you can’t even recognize where we are?”

Louis scans the park and sees _it_ not far away from them.

A tree with the word ‘Larry’ carved on it.

That’s the combination of their names, their families used to call them that to refer to the both of them since they were always together, they were like two persons in one.

Louis recognizes the place now.

It’s the park they always used to play in when they were kids.

That’s where they _met_.

Once upon a time, a loud blue-eyed five-year old asked a shy green-eyed three-year old to play together in this park.

From that moment, they always met up at the park to play almost everyday.

And the rest is history.

“Do you remember now?” Harry sees Louis gazing at the tree.

“Yeah… are you okay?” Louis asks hesitantly.

Harry ignores his question, he just digs through the bag taking out some sort of… medicine?

“H-Hope you don’t mind… I-I took your wallet to buy something to clean your face…”

“No… I don’t mind” Harry starts opening the bottle of disinfectant and wets the bandage.

“It’s going to sting a bit…”

And yes, it does.

But Louis focuses on the casual touch of Harry’s soft hand on his skin.

“Haz, are you okay?” Louis asks again softly.

Harry doesn’t meet his eyes, he just keeps cleaning his cuts.

Then, he whispers quietly “It’s all my fault…”

“What are you saying?!” Louis is shocked.

“I was so stupid. That man looked so helpless… He stole my wallet and then we bumped into Tom because you wanted to recover it. It’s all my fault they beat you up, they made you bleed, they made you almost unconscious…” Harry is silently crying but refuses to stop tending to his injuries.

“Harry” Louis takes his hand and therefore makes him stop his actions.

The crying lad drops his gaze to his lap but Louis lifts his chin to make him look at him.

The curly-headed boy has tears streaming from his puffy green eyes and a bit of snot flowing out of his nostrils.

Louis doesn’t think he’s less beautiful than always.

“It’s not your fault” Louis says firmly.

“I decided to chase that son of a bitch, it’s none of your fault that Tom found us and that he’s an asshole”

Silence.

Harry’s cries are the only sounds heard in the quiet park.

“I-It’s just t-that Tom… T-Tom tried t-to-” The young boy erupts with loud sobs, so Louis hugs him tightly to his chest to comfort him.

“Ssh, it’s okay, you’re safe now” Louis whispers in his ears.

“H-How are we g-gonna face him again at s-school?” Harry manages to question through his sobs.

“We’ll figure it out, okay?” Louis caresses his soft hair.

That’s the third time Harry cries that night.

The sobbing boy calms down after a few minutes.

“How come you decided to play doctor with me?” the older lad tries to cheer up the mood.

“I figured you wouldn’t have liked to go to the hospital since your mom is having her shift now”

“You were right, thanks for doing that”

“Don’t mention it”

They fall into comfortable silence after that.

Until Louis breaks it.

“Soo… What a date, uh?”

“Yeah…” Harry chuckles nervously.

“It’s just that… no matter how hard I tried to make it right…”

“Fate seems to be mad at us”

“I mean, a couple of things might have been my fault but…”

“It’s as if the universe is trying to tell us that…”

Louis fears what Harry is about to say, he doesn’t know if he will be able to hear that.

“That maybe we shouldn’t be together”

Harry Styles has officially murdered Louis Tomlinson.

“Harry, I-I… Do you really m-mean it?” Louis suddenly finds it difficult to breathe and for his brain to function properly.

“I-I… No, it’s just… so many bad things happened tonight… I just can’t help to question whether we should be together or just give up” Harry looks defeated, like all his hopes were crushed.

And no, Louis can’t let this happen.

He can’t lose the love of his life because of ‘fate’.

He will fight it with all his might.

If it even exists, that is.

“Fuck this” Louis is so determined.

“W-What?!” Harry is surprised by the older lad’s outburst.

“Fuck this! Fuck that fake homelss asshole! Fuck Tom! Fuck the universe!” Louis is shouting.

“Louis, calm down-”

“No, Harry! Fuck everything! I can’t let this awful date ruin it for us! I can’t lose you, I fucking _love_ you! More than a best friend!”

Only after a few moments of staring at Harry’s astonished face, Louis acknowledges what he has just said.

He doesn’t regret it, but still he can’t help but feel a bit nervous.

“D-Do you like m-me too?” Louis asks a lot more quietly.

“I-I, Louis… Yes, I _love_ you! H-How can you even think I don’t! I love you so much it hurts me hearing you talk about other boys or girls and them crushing on you! _I_ want to be the one you talk about all the time! _I_ want to hold your hand at school and outside of it! _I_ want to go on dates with you! I-I wanna kiss you!!!” Harry loses his cool too.

Louis is speechless.

Until…

“Then do it”

But just as Harry was about to lean in, something wet drops on both of their faces, and it keeps coming.

They both look up.

It’s raining.

What a great timing.

“We umm… We’d better find some place so that we won’t get soaked…” Louis says awkwardly.

Bravo Louis, what a way to ruin the moment.

“Oh… yeah” Harry says seemingly disappointed.

Trust me, Louis is too.

The lads stand up from the bench and exit the park.

There’s an ice-cream shop across the street and a car with two girls in it, is parked in front of it.

The song ‘Still the one’ by Shania Twain starts playing on the car’s radio and the girls turn it up.

“Love that song” Harry smiles.

“Yeah, me too”

Harry holds his hand.

Shit. Damn. Fuck. Crap.

It send sparks throughout his body.

Louis could say they fit like two puzzle pieces coming together but it’s too cliché.

Instead, Louis thinks they fit just like ketchup and mayonnaise.

There you go.

Even though it starts proper raining now, they still don’t cross the street, too lost in the moment.

It’s as if they are waiting for something, some sort of signal from the so discussed fate.

And something happens.

But it’s not what they expected.

Suddenly, out of nowhere a car speeds through the road splashing the rain water on the concrete and soakig them from head to toe.

They just stand there frozen for what feels like hours.

Louis is not even surprised anymore at the unfortunate event which just occured.

So, he's the first to recover the gift of speaking.

“Well, there goes our plan of keeping dry” Louis turns to Harry.

He doesn’t get a reply, nor a grin or a laugh.

He just feels something soft on his lips.

It feels like pillows or feathers or… lips.

_Lips!_

They are _kissing!_

_**You're still the one I run to** _

_**The one that I belong to** _

_**You're still the one I want for life (You're still the one)** _

_**You're still the one that I love** _

_**The only one I dream of** _

_**You're still the one I kiss good night** _

Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God.

That’s what Louis has ever dreamt of doing.

Kissing Harry is _so_ amazing.

People are wrong.

He doesn’t feel fireworks.

He feels a trillion atomic bombs exploding at the same time.

He doesn’t know for how long they kiss, he only knows that he’ll never get enough.

Time better be taking a holiday because Louis plans on kissing Harry for days, non-stop.

When they draw apart, the two young boys stare into each other’s eyes and wonder whether they have found their soulmate.

They decide that fate doesn’t exist.

They are meant to be together.

Fuck the universe.


	10. Chapter 10

The music starts.

Harry and Louis look into each other’s eyes .

_**Looks like we made it Look how far we've come my baby** _

_**We mighta took the long way** _

_**We knew we'd get there someday** _

Louis’ soft voice rings in the theatre and everybody cheer just as he starts to sing.

Maybe he’s not so bad as he thought he was.

_**They said, "I bet they'll never make it"** _

_**But just look at us holding on** _

_**We're still together still going strong** _

Harry’s raspy voice makes the audience go even crazier.

Now it’s time for harmonizing…

**_You're still the one I run to_ **

**_The one that I belong to_ **

**_You're still the one I want for life_ **

Louis glances at the judges: Louis Walsh and Cheryl Cole have their hands up in the air swaying them from left to right, Simon is _smiling_.

Oh wow.

Who knew the most powerful and strict-looking man in the music industry had a soft spot for kids singing Shania Twain?

**_You're still the one that I love_ **

**_The only one I dream of_ **

**_You're still the one I kiss good night_ **

Their voices mix together beautifully.

He loves singing with his boyfriend.

And the audience seems to love them singing together too since when they’re done, the screams are so loud they can’t even hear the judges talking.

After a few moments, the cheers subside a bit but they’re still pretty loud.

“What can I say guys, I _love_ you!” Louis Walsh shouts over the crowd’s screams.

“Thanks” Louis says shocked.

“I can’t help but think you’re soo cute singing together! Your voices are very different but so right when they sing in unison. I am officially a fan!” Cheryl Cole says looking genuine.

Harry chuckles while saying “Thank you”

Then there’s an agonizing wait in which Simon just stares at them with a grin.

“I like you lads” the audience is _soo_ loud now.

Louis is afraid the roof is going to fall off.

Never in his life Louis thought it possible for Simon to like them.

“Shall we vote?” Louis Walsh asks receiving nods from the other judges.

“For me is a Yes!” Louis Walsh exclaims enthusiastically.

Harry looks at his boyfriend nervously, Louis comforts him by clasping his hand in his.

“For me is a big fat Yes!” Cheryl Cole says with a huge grin.

Now everybody turns to Simon.

Harry’s hand is holding his so tightly in anticipation.

“For me…” Simon’s face is blank.

‘Please, please, please’

“… is a Yes”

Harry hugs him so hard, he almost falls.

Awwws are heard from the people in the audience.

Louis can’t believe it, he’s so happy!

Suddenly, everybody starts to chant “Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!”

They look at each other in awkwardness.

“Come on lads, kiss!” Simon shouts into the microphone.

“Kiss me you fool” Harry says laughing.

And Louis does.

The screams are so loud that even when they’re out of the theatre, Louis’s ears whistle.

They party with their families that night and Harry is glowing, he shines like the sun.

Yes, when they don’t get through bootcamp is hard, but the disappointment and the sadness get wiped away when they both get asked to join a new boyband along with three other guys.

Their names are: Liam, Niall and Zayn.

Liam is definitely the most serious one out of all of them and Louis will have a lot of fun in making him go mad with his messy and rebellious behaviour. They’ll probably loathe each other in the beginning but Louis believes they’ll learn to accept each other’s personalities.

Zayn is such a chill guy, he barely speaks. It’s not like he’s shy or something, he looks like he understands people without communicating. It’s weird, right? Louis thinks they’ll be great friends.

Niall is a pretty loud and festive kid. It seems like he’s not made to be sad… Seriously, the kid is so happy all the time, Louis fears he’s a robot planning on learning as much information as he can about them so that he can kill them and form new robots with their physical traits and personalities.

Louis has a fervid imagination.

They learn they are very different people but they can work as one.

Harry picks out their band name: One Direction.

Although they don’t win the X-Factor, they win the love and affection of an amazing fanbase.

‘Larry’ becomes their ship name after it slips from Harry’s lips during an interview.

They are living the dream, they’re so lucky to be able to share it with amazing people.

Even when the band goes on a hiatus, they still stay together through thick and thin.

They are best friends, hell brothers, after all.

Harry becomes even more beatiful than he was at sixteen.

He starts growing his hair out and Louis couldn’t be happier about it…

And when Harry is 23 and Louis is 25, the older boy proposes to the younger one.

And of course, the green-eyed boy says yes.

How could he not?

They’re soulmates after all.

The fans go crazy about it as well as the boys and their families who celebrate with them.

Well.

I guess the universe was wrong after all.

If it exists, that is.

**The end**


End file.
